Power brake



:fune 5, 1928.

DE WITT C. CONKLING POWER BRAKE Filed NOV. 22, 1924 vuelvx hukumLvFw v mechanism constructed\ 50 Patented June 5, 1928.

l UNITED STATES DE wrm; c. coNnLrNe, or JacxsoN HEIGHTS, Naw Yoan;

rownn Applicationaie'novemner 22,1924. serial 1ro. 151,501.

This invention relates to a powerbrake" mechanism adapted for use upon vehicles, or in any other connections as may be desirable.

An object of the invention is to provide a 5 simple. and efficient mechanical mechanism whereby to control application and release of brakes by means of power derived from a suitable power element or engine as for instance from the engine of an automobile -or the like. Y y

A further object is to provide a mecha` nism of the type indicated and t provide a simple` convenient and easily operable means t; of manually controlling the action thereof. A further object is to provide a device as indicated and which will be adapted to serve -as a. lock forpreventing operation of the part braked or for prevent-ing theft of an automobile in cases where the -device :of this invention is applied'as a brake mechanism v upon such vehicles. i,

A more detailed object is to provide a device 'of the type indicated including suitable clutch controlled reversing gears, a shaft adapted to be rotated in either a forward or a reverse direction selectively through said gearsby manipulation of a simple control leverand means operated Aby said shaft to either tighten or release the brakes accord-y ing to the direction of rotation of the shaft, and also, to' provide simple means for auto- [matically controlling the limits of movement of-rthe brake controlling parts, and '-also. to provide manually controlled means by which to effect release-'of the brakes at any time.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less vspecific than those referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in lthe course-of the'following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts' and applications of` principles constituting the invention'. and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.l

In the accompanying drawing which is to be taken as a partof this vspecification is shown a diagrammatic perspective view, partly in longitudinal section, of abrake in accordance with this invention. -v

Referring to the drawing for Avdescribing in detail the exemplary "structure therein shown the' reference character L'indicates a suitable rower shaft. This may be connected 5`5 t be 'driven in any suitable manner, either in a directionas indicated b tion of the drums 1f and 2` and by an ordinary ex losive engine, by an electric motor, r@or ot erwise according to thev requirements of the case.

lWhile the brake mechanism comprising this invention is applicable tp use in various 00 connections an important use will be in association4 with 'an automobile or like vehicle structure as a means ,for controlling thek a plication and release of the brakes'Y upon tllie traction wheels'of such vehicles.' Its use in 65 this connection will therefore be understood for the purposes of the resent descri tion, and in such use the sha t L may be riven by any suitable driving connection vfrom the engine shaft of the automobile, or ifv pre- 'I0 ferred it may be driven by the generator accompanying the engine or by a separate electric or other motor. 'When connected to be driven from the engine shaft it will be. driven only when the en ine is operating 76 whereas if connected to e driven by the generator. or. a separa-te'motor it may bev caused to rotate at any time the generator or'motor. f At Gis connected what may be termed the 80 brake shaft which is adapted to be driven by the shaft 'L, andconnected between these shafts L and Grv is ai suitable reversing gear device H comprising a pair of drums as l and 2 Vwhich will be hereinafter referred to 85 as the brakeA tightening drum and the brake releasing drum respectively. The gear mechanism contained within these drums and vconnected with the two shafts is nof a. type already known and is therefore not an shown vor described herein, it being suicient for the purpose of the present description to say that assuming the shaft L to be rotating the arrow then if the drum 1 be held agalnst rotation the 95 shaft G will be caused to rotatein the same by operating Idirection as the shaft Land cause the setting' or tightening of the brakes, while if the drum 2 be held against rotation the shaft G- will be caused to rotate in a direction reverse '100 to the direction 'of rotation-ofshaft L and 1 cause the release of the brakes. Any suitable clutch device may be provided for lselectively controlling the rotaor the'pur- 105 pose of illustration 4the drawing :shows a Ydouble-ended lever as3 pivotally.- mounted-- adjacent said drums having oneof its .ends as 4 arranged for enga.'v ment with the drum 1 and having its ot er end as 5V ar-'Vng ends upon a suitable shaft 6 which extends receive this sleeve.

u d e 7 by which it may be oscillated back and forth as indicated by arrow 8 to the neces- -sary extents for applying either the clutch or 5 as desired. The shaft G has mounted thereon a longitudinal screw threaded sleeve 9 mounted to always rotate with said shaft. The'shaft is 'preferably square as at410 to Upon the sleeve 9 is a second or brake sleeve 11 having a threadedA interior portion as 12 for engaging the threads ofthe screw sleeve.

To the outer end of the brake sleeve 11 is connected the brake rod 13.

The brake sleeve may be held against rotation by any suitable means but as illustrated is shown 'to\ be provided with a lon'- itudinal groove 14 into which' engages a eather 15 provided upon a bearing part as 16 within which the brake sleeve ported. f Y i It will be seen thereforevthat rotation of the shaft with drum 1 held stationary will cause the brake sleeve 11 t-o be drawn ltoward the left/in the draw-ing` while rotation of the shaft with the drum 2 held stationary will cause the sleeve 11 tbe slid outwardly, that is toward the.right in the drawing.

vThe action thus transmitted to the brake rod 13 by the selective movement of the. handle 7 willthus be the same in effect as is supt-hat now'commonly given to qthe brake rod bythe usual clumsy and unsightly brake v lever in automobile construction.. 4The movements will be positive and powerful which 1s of course of particular importance in' the brake tightenin direction.v and it will be -apparent that t e movementsin either direet-ion may be carried to any extent be- 'tween opposite limits as may be desired, the

movement in either direction being immediately arrested by the simple vact of returning the handle 7 to normal and thus leavlng the two drums 1 and 2 instantly free to rotate without lrequiring rotation of the brake shaft G. y l

In order to automatically insure cessation of rotation of the shaftG when the brake sleeve "'11 has reached either of its extremesasi-mple control mechanism' is indicated which comprises a slide-.bar 17 ex tending parallel with the shaft and having a pair of oppositely'facing stops 18 and 19 thereon arranged to be engaged by an i .extension v*20 ot the brake sleeve `as said sleeve app-roaches its opposite extremes. This slide bar may be rrount'ed in lsuitable bearings as 21, 22 and 23 provided in a casing or housing part 24 which 'may envelope the entire mechanism if desired. i'

A pair of shoulder elements 254 and 26' are provided upon the rods spaced apart adpwardly and carriesat its upper end a han! acent to the .shaft 6 and adapted to receive etween them an extending finger 27 con- .the linger 27 against or nearly against vthe shoulder 26. this beingthe only way he could possibly move said-handle, the brake sleeve will move toward the lett until the extension 20 engages the stop 18 Vand moves the slide bar -17 to the left causing the lever 3 to be returned again to its normal position with the end 4 thereof out of engagement with the drum 1.. g

Engagement of finger 2T'with shoulder 26 willA make it impossible tov again move the lever 3 into'engagement with drum 1 until it has been first moved into engagement with drum2 forsliding the sleeve 11'out ofits `extreme brake tighteningl position.

It will be seenftherefore that the opera-tor need onlymove the handlel 7 into one position or the other as he may desire according to whether the brakes are to be set-or released, and the mechanism described will perform the desired result and automatically .go out of opeiationgandGJ return the handle to normal when the result is accoi'nplished.

The connection between theI brake .sleeve "11 and the brake rod 13 is preferably 'of a resilient' character in order that the brakes may be applied with substantially maximum tightness without requiring a precise positioning ot the brake sleeve. For this purpose the drawing-illustrates.the end of the brake rod asv comprising a yoke 28 which straddles a cross pin 29 carried by the vbrake sleeve. l A. compression spring 30 is arran ed wit-hinthe end of theA brake sleeve and etween said yoke and said pin adapted to be. compressed between the cross pin andthe end wall of the yoke `when the brake sleeve is moved to tightened position. It is intendcd that the brake roditself will reach subturning all o automobile it will occasionally happen that the engine will be idle and the brakes be inV on position. In such a ease it may not bedesirable or convenient to start the en-- gine, and on this account the present invention proposes a manual release for the brakes operable at vany time. As illustrated this mechanism includes the making of the screw 'sleeve 9 as an element separate from the movethem'to releasing position when the'.v

collar is slid. to the` right along the shaft. A lever 36, pivotally supported in a 'suitable manner as at 37 engages saidlcollar and is in turn arranged to be operated by suit-ablev means extending to a position of accessibility for the driver of the vehicle. In the instance illustrated a cable as 38 is connect ed with the vlever 36 and extends upwardly through a bore of .the shaft 6 and into connection with the/handle 7asIat 39. The

'handle 7 is pivotally mounted as at 40 upon the upper Aend of the shaft 6 so that it is adapted to swing in a direction longitudi-l nally of said shaft as indicated by the arrow41 whereby said cable. niay be drawn upon to operate the collar 34 by swinging` the lever .upwardly as suggested by said 'are row 41 whenever-desired.

Any suitable means, as for instance the spring 33, ma be depended upon for rethese emergency operating parts to their normal positions..

'The handle` 7 normally rests within a .transverse slot 42 at lthe upper end of the shaft 6 whereby it is adapted to swing upon the pivot and yet, be normally adapted;

to rotate said shaft upon occasion.

Whenever the latches 31 and 32 are re leased the screw sleeve 9. and the brake sleeve 11, the latter of course being at such time in braking position. will move yimmediately together into brake releasing position when the 'ange 4.3 l which is provided atthe inner end ot' the sleeve 11 engages against 'a limiting stop' 44.

To restore the screw sleeve 9 again to normal position the shaft L must be rotating. The operator will move the handle 7 'to brake releasing position. The finger 27 on 'lever 3 will move the slide bar 17. toward the left and the stop 19 on said slide bar will fcause .the two sleeves, and the brake rod 13 proper action,

all to move to the left a correspondingly slight distance.l this being possible because of the, slackened condition of the brake rod 13 at this time; The sleeve 9 will begin to rotate in a direction tending to move the sleeve .11 again toward the right. Movement of 'sleeve 11 toward the right, being now obstructed by the stop 19 and pressure of the operators hand on the handle 7. the screw 9 will travel toward the left and will coni tin'ue so to travel until it is arrested by engagement of itsV end surface 45 with an opposing' shoulder portion 46 provided upon its carrying shaft G inwhich position the latches 31- and 32 will again engage over the shoulders 47 of extension 20 and sleeve 1l will be forced against the stop 19 moving said stop and the shoulder element 25 also toward the leftand returning the handle 7 to normal position thus releasing the brake drum 2 and allowing the parts to come to rest ready for subsequent applicatie-n of the brakes by movement of the-handle' 7 to brake applying position whenever occasion mav aiise.- l

Theonly work required to be performed at. any time by the operatorlis that ot moving thehandle 7 vfrom one position to another for the. purpose ot settingl the mechanism for the element of power being always supplied bythe shaft L. The handle 7 may thus be properly described as a. setting7 element'. and it follows further that since movement of this sett-ing" element is required as a prerequisite of any action of the mechanism. asimple form of lock to retain it against'imovement out of its normal neutral position will efficiently prevent ot a suitable key tolco-ntrol the operation of a locking tongue 49 which is adapted toNv he moved into and out of engagement with-l in a suitable opening 50 providedin a sta-V tionary member 5l b v movement of the key. lVhen the locking tongue 49 is engaged wit in vthe opening 50 the handlejvill be .held` againstswingingr in eitherot its directions. It should here. be 'mentioned that while the settinafhandle 7 is here-shown as having connections for directly mechanically applying frictional.resistance to the. drums 1 and it is neverthelessapp'arenf that hydraulic. or pneumatic,.- con'nectinnsmay be provided .for this purpose itl desired' t As many chauffes could be made n this construction without fdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the folllU' 1. A power brake comprising a power shaft, a brake rod, selectively operable -means by which to move. said brake rod by power derived from said shaft, and means manually operable to release the brake' rod at will.

' 2. lA power brake vcomprising a^ power shaft. a. brake rod,A a `brake shaft interposed between said power shaft and said brake rod, reversing gea-rs connecting said power shaft andjsaid brake shaft, manually operable means to control the action of said reversing gears for thereby causin said brake shaft to rotate either with sai power shaft or in a reversed direction to said power shaft, saidbrake shaft 'extending longitudinally in the same direction as-said brake rod. and 'screw connection. between said brake shaft. and said brake rod by which rotation of the brake shaft will cause the brake rod to be moved to brake setting or brake releasing position according tothe direction ofrotation of the brake shaft.

3. A power brake comprising' a power shaft, a. brake rod, selectively operable means' by which to move said brake rod by power erive'd ,from said shaft,'means automatically operable to limitthe movement of the brake rod vin at least one direction, and means whereby said brake rod is extensible for the lpurpose set forth.

. '4. A power brake comprising a rotatable shaft,V means selectively operable to rotate said shaft in either a forward or a reversed direction atI will, screw threads piiovided u'pon said shaft, an internally `threa`ded sleeve telescoping over said shaft havingits threads engaging the threads of the shaft, said sleeve extending longitudinally in the same direction as the shaft, means providing a bearing siirrounding the shaft and within which .the 'sleeve is slidably mounted, slot andl key means interengaging between the .bearing and the sleeve to prevent rotation of the sleeve with respect to said shaft while permitting sliding 'of the shaft, a brake rod,

andmeans connecting the brake rod with said sleeve. ,y b

5. Apower brake comprising a rotatable l shaft, means selectively operable to `rotate said shaft in either a forward' or a. reversed direction at will, Screw threads vprovided upon said shaft, an internall threaded sleeve telescoping over said. sha t having its threads engaging the threads ofthe shaft, said sleeve extending'longitudinally in the sahiedirection as theshaft and continuing beyond the end of the shaft, abearing within which the sleeve -isl slidably mounted, means interengaging between the bearing and the sleeve to prevent rotation of the sleeveJ a resilient member carried by the sleeve, and a brake rod yieldably connectedv with the sleeve by engagement with said resilient member.

6. A power brake comprisin 'a rotatable shaft, means selectively opera le to rotate said shaft in either a forward or a reversed direction at; will, screw threads provided upon said shaft, an internally threaded l sleeve telescoping over said shaft having its threads engaging the threads of the shaft, said sleeve extending longitudinally in the same direction as the shaft andl continuing beyond the end of the sha-ft, a. bearing within which the sleeve is slidably mounted, means interengaging between the bearing and the v sleeve to prevent rotation of the sleeve, a resilient. member carried within the projecting portion of the,sleeve beyond the end of 'the shaft. and a brake rod extendingV into said shaft and being yieldably connected therewith by engagement with said resilient member. i

. 7. In a power brake comprising a rotatably mounted shaft having screw threads thereon, means to rotate the shaft in either a. forward or a reversed direction at will, `and a brake rod Ihavinga' threaded part engaging the threads of said shaft whereby the brake rod will be moved to either a brake setting or a bra-ke 'releasing position according to the direction of rotation of the shaft, the combination therewith of means arranged to be engaged by the brake rod automatically operable to stop rotation ofsaid v shaft by movement of the brake rod.

8. In a power brake comprising a rotatably mounted shaft having screw threads thereon, means to rotate the shaftin-either a forward or a reversed direction at wil1, and a brake rod having a threaded part engaging the threads of said shaft whereby the brake rod will be moved to either, a. brake setting or a brake releasing position accord-r` thereon, means torotatethe-shaftin either a forward or a reversed direction at will,

and a brake rod having a threaded part en-` gaging the threads of' saidshaflt' whereby the brake rod will be moved to 'eithen a brake setting or a brake releasing position accord-- ing tothe direction of rotation of the shaft, Athe combination therewith of means -ar- `ranged to be engaged by the brale rod auto- In a powerbrake comprising -a rotat- '120 matically operable' to stop rotation of the shaft when the brake rod reaches either exf treme of its movement.

10. In a power brake comprisinga rotatably mounted shaftV having screw threads' thereon, means to. rotate the shaft inv either.

a 'forward or a reversed direction at will, and a brake rod having ay threaded' part engaging `the threads of said shaft whereby the brake rod will be moved to either a brake setting or a brake releasing position according to the direction of rotation of the shaft,

a forward or a reversed direction at will.. and a brake rod having' a-,threaded part eni' gaging the threads of said-shaft whereby the brake rod will be moved to either a brake 'setting or abrake releasing position according to the direction of rotation of the shaft, the combination therewith of means automatically operable to stop rotation of the shaft when the brake rod reaches oneextreme of its movement. l,

12. In a power brake comprising a rotatably mounted shaft having' screw threads thereon, means to rotate the shaft in 'either a forward or a reversed direction-at will, anda brake rod havin a threaded part engaging `the -threads o said -shaftwhereby the brake rod will be moved to either-a brake setting or a brake releasing position according to the direction of rotation of the sha tt.v the combination therewith of means antolmatically operable to stop rotation of the shaft when the brake rod reaches either eX- treme of its movement.

13. In a power brake comprising a rotatthereon, means to rotate the shaft in either a forward or a reversed direction at will, and a brake rod having a threaded part enragingthe threads ofsaid shaft whereby the brake rod will be moved to either a brake .setting-or abrake releasing position according to the direction of rotation of the shaft,

the combination therewith of means 'automatically operable to stop rotation of said shaft by movement of the brake rod, and

'ably mounted shaft'havin'g screw threads means manually operable Lo release the brake v rod at-will.

. 14,'A power brake comprising a rotatably mounted shaft, an' exteriorally threaded sleeve carried by said shaft, means to rotate thefshaft in either aforward or a reversed direction at will, means interengaging between the shaft and sleeve to cause rotationv of the sleeve with the shaft while permitting sliding movement of the sleeve longitudinally of the shaft, a brake rod having a'threaded part engaging the threads of said sleeve to control thebrake rod, means to retain the vsleeve lagainst sliding movement upon the shaft, and manually operable meansl to release said retaining mleans'a't will.

15. In a power brake comprising a rotatably mounted shaft having screw threads thereon, 'a brake rod having athreaded part engaging Vthe threads of said shaft, means comprising a part extending to a distance from saidshaft manually selectively operable to rotate the shaft to effect rotation of the shaft in either al forward or a reversed direction at will, and mechanism whereby said extending part is selectively operable also to effect release of the brake rod at will.

In witness whereof I aiix my signature.

DE WITT C; CONKLING. 

